Private businesses are being sold at higher earnings multiples in the current market compared with recent years, according to West Perth firm Mergers & Acquisitions Pty Ltd.
Fremantle-based Oil Mallee Company Ltd hopes to capitalise on current market sentiment by working towards bioenergy production with an initial $300,000 capital raising and possibly listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.
This year’s $US32 billion ($A40 billion) takeover of US power utility TXU was famous for being the world’s biggest private equity deal, but it has also become renowned for the role of environmental activists.
Western Australia should move towards ‘sustainable functionality’ through a restructuring of its agricultural industry and adaptation to the changing climate, according to an internationally renowned water expert.
The state government’s long-awaited Climate Action Statement, injecting $40 million of funding into renewable energy development and committing to renewable energy targets, has received a mixed response from within the sector.
Sales of hybrid vehicles in Western Australia have almost doubled on last year for the year to date, as 4WD and sports utility vehicles fall out of favour with buyers across Australia and overseas.
An increased amount of litigation and regulatory action over the disclosure practices of listed companies has become one of the main risks facing company directors.
Construction company Laing O’Rourke Ltd and the Dampier Port Authority hired two of Perth’s top law firms last year when they became enmeshed in a complex dispute over the building of a new jetty; but that hasn’t helped them achieve an effective outcome.
Seven months after releasing its first prospectus, and in the face of strident criticism from the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia, Perth company Integrated Legal Holdings Ltd is pushing ahead with plans for a share market float.
Maintaining good working relationships with external lawyers is much more important than introducing alternative billing arrangements when it comes to managing legal costs, according to legal counsel surveyed by WA Business News.
The Takeovers Panel has concluded that its operations should be able to continue effectively despite a Federal Court ruling last month that cast doubt on its future.
Three substantial commercial law firms have been established in Perth in the past year and each has adopted a fundamentally different strategy and business model.
The booming WA economy has prompted many businesses to establish or expand their in-house legal teams, creating new professional opportunities for lawyers and new challenges for law firms selling their wares.
Changes to the franchising code of conduct to be implemented next month will provide potential franchisees with far more information about the businesses they purchase than is currently available.
For Judith Monteath and Liz Offer, an opportunity to expand their respite care business for people with disabilities sparked the idea for a franchise model.
By exporting his Western Australian-based car cleaning franchise, Car Care, into China, franchisor Mike Stringer expects to generate growth on a scale that could not be achieved in Australia.
As the biggest franchise in Western Australia measured by the number of outlets, Jim’s (WA) reflects two of the major trends in franchising – it is a service-based business and a diversified group.
Those looking for more input in the direction of the City of Perth will have to buy or lease a property in the city before October in order to get a chance of securing a vote in its council and mayoral elections.
Just about all of Vanya Cullen’s Margaret River neighbours have produced lower-than-average grape crops this year after weather conditions in 2005 and 2006 left vines bearing smaller grapes and smaller bunches.
Rob Mann is one of a handful of Western Australian winemakers lucky enough to get his hands on some cuttings of pinot gris – a white wine style growing in popularity with wine drinkers in Europe and the US.
Great Southern Ltd has rejected claims from the Wine Grape Growers’ Australia that the grape glut that crippled many players in the industry during 2005 and 2006 would return to haunt the sector within five years.
